News Room

On June 29, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Charles Burns received a national honor as he was inducted into the Stanley Goldstein Treatment Court Hall of Fame during a special ceremony at RISE23, the world’s preeminent conference on addiction, mental health, and justice reform.

Named for the nation’s first drug court judge, the Stanley Goldstein Treatment Court Hall of Fame is the highest honor bestowed by All Rise, the leading training, membership, and advocacy organization for treatment courts. Judge Burns was inducted by outgoing board chair Judge Karen Freeman-Wilson (ret.).

The Circuit Court of Cook County announced today that, effective July 17, 2023, court proceedings will no longer be livestreamed. 

This court has been made aware of allegations against the Hon. William H. Hooks which, if true, would violate the Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct.

Following a June 29 meeting of the Circuit Court of Cook County Executive Committee, I issued an order, pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 56, assigning Judge Hooks to restricted duties or duties other than judicial duties in the office of the First Municipal District Presiding Judge E. Kenneth Wright, Jr., subject to further order of the court.

The Hon. Donna L. Cooper has been named Acting Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Justice Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans said. 

A retired colonel with the Illinois Army National Guard, Judge Cooper has been a judge in the Juvenile Justice Division since April of 2009. She has presided over the Juvenile Justice Division of the Sixth Municipal District in Markham since July of 2011, and also has led the Englewood Restorative Justice Community Court since its opening in August 2020. 

Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced on Friday that enriched evening programming for Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC) residents will begin on Monday, April 17.

Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans and the court’s Nominating Committee today announced the names of the 44 candidates who will be on the ballot for circuit judges to vote to fill 22 associate judge vacancies. 

The Hon. Mary C. Marubio has been named Acting Presiding Judge of the Pretrial Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans said. 

Judge Marubio has been a judge in the Pretrial Division since its creation in 2017, and has been a supervising judge since November 2021. Appointed an associate judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County in 2016, she was initially assigned to the First Municipal and then the Domestic Relations Divisions. She was elected a circuit judge in 2020. 

Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans has proposed creating a central state registry for the filing of wills, to guard against the loss of original documents and expensive litigation for families. 

The Maywood Courthouse will be open on Friday, Jan. 6, following repairs to a broken water main, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced. 

The Courthouse was closed on Thursday to repair the break. Litigants whose court dates were rescheduled are advised to contact their attorneys and/or the Clerk of the Circuit Court here for the new date.  

The Hon. Stuart F. Lubin has been appointed interim acting presiding judge of the Juvenile Justice Division as of January 2, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced.

Judge Lubin fills the role left by the recent retirement of the Hon. Michael P. Toomin, Judge Evans said.

Judge Evans said he is interviewing candidates for the Juvenile Justice position, and that Judge Lubin will serve until the interview process is completed.

The Maywood Courthouse will be closed on Thursday due to a water main break, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced.

Crews are working to repair the break at the Fourth Municipal District Courthouse at 1500 Maybrook Drive in Maywood. Cases that were scheduled to be handled remotely, by Zoom, will still be heard. Bond court also will be heard remotely. However, criminal cases which were expected to be handled in person will be rescheduled for a later date.

Due to predictions of significant snowfall, high winds causing blizzard – like conditions, and extremely low temperatures and wind chills in Cook County, Chief Judge Timothy C.

Due to the replacement of existing ComEd power supply equipment serving the Leighton Criminal Courthouse, the courthouse will be closed all day this weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, November 19 and 20. The administration building will be open during this period. 

New, lower court fees for adoption cases in Cook County will make it easier for families to adopt children and give them permanent homes, announced Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans on Tuesday. The new fees were implemented in time for National Adoption Day, Saturday, November 19.

The Avondale Restorative Justice Community Court will hold its first in-person graduation ceremony in its two-year history on Friday, November 18, at 1 p.m., according to Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans.

The ceremony will be held at Resurrection Hall at St. Hyacinth’s Basilica, 3657 W. George St. Featured speakers will include Judge Evans and the Hon. Beatriz Santiago, the presiding judge of the court. Seventeen graduates will be honored.

Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced today a number of improvements that are ongoing at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC). 

These changes are being implemented by an Implementation Committee chaired by Bryan Samuels, Executive Director of Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago.  

The JTDC has completed Northwestern University’s Trauma Informed Juvenile Court Self-Assessment, produced by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. 

Due to the replacement of existing ComEd power supply equipment serving the Leighton Criminal Courthouse, the courthouse will be closed all day this weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, October 15 and 16. The administration building will be open during this period. Because of this closure, the Pretrial Division (central bond court) will conduct all bail hearings on Zoom on the weekend of October 15 and 16. For the court hearings normally conducted in Courtrooms 100 and 102, attorneys and court staff will log in by Zoom.

The North Lawndale Restorative Justice Community Court will hold a graduation ceremony at 10 a.m. on Thursday, October 13, for 80 graduates – the largest graduation in the court’s five-year history. 

The ceremony will be held at UCAN Chicago, 3605 W. Fillmore Ave. Featured speakers include the Hon. Patricia Spratt, the presiding judge of the court, and Rayshawn Fields, a graduate who has composed a rap song about his experience. 

The Hon. Rena Marie Van Tine has been named Acting Presiding Judge of the County Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans said.

The Hon. Regina Scannicchio has been named Acting Presiding Judge of the Domestic Relations Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans said.

Judge Scannicchio was first appointed to the bench by the Illinois Supreme Court in 2011, after 23 years as a private domestic relations attorney. She was elected in 2012 and retained in 2018. After a year in traffic court, she became a judge in the Domestic Relations Division in 2012.

On September 21, 2022, the Chicago Police Department filed a complaint against Circuit Judge Carl B. Boyd, alleging that, on September 20, Judge Boyd committed the offense of domestic battery, in violation of 720 ILCS 5/12-3.2(a)(l), a Class A misdemeanor. 

Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans was elected today to an eighth term as chief judge by an overwhelming majority of circuit judges voting. His new three-year term will begin December 5, 2022.

Earlier today, the Office of the Chief Judge (OCJ) was notified by Google that the OCJ’s YouTube accounts, used to provide public access to court proceedings, will be restored after being temporarily disabled last week.

Last Friday, Google disabled the accounts due to unspecified violations of unspecified YouTube Community Guidelines. The Office of the Chief Judge appealed. Earlier today, the OCJ received a notice from Google’s YouTube team confirming that the court’s channels do not violate the guidelines and acknowledging that “sometimes we make mistakes.”

Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans has established an implementation committee to work with the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC) to implement recommendations of the Circuit Court of Cook County Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC) designed to best help youth in detention.

These recommendations include:

Earlier today, the Office of the Chief Judge was notified by Google that the OCJ’s YouTube accounts, used to provide public access to court proceedings, had been disabled due to unspecified violations of unspecified YouTube Community Guidelines.

The OCJ is not aware of any particular instance that would have precipitated the action, but understands that court proceedings are sometimes graphic in nature and not suitable for all audiences.

Donald W. Russell, who has served as Jury Room Supervisor at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse for 15 years, has been appointed Acting Jury Administrator for the Circuit Court of Cook County, effective September 1, 2022, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans said.

Russell has been an employee of the Office of the Chief Judge for almost 25 years, starting in 1998 with the Mandatory Arbitration Program. He joined Jury Administration in 2000, and was promoted to Jury Room Supervisor at the Criminal Courthouse in 2007. He will replace Anthony Barone, who is retiring at the end of August.

Circuit Court of Cook County judges have joined in a statewide initiative sponsored by the Illinois Conference of Chief Judges and the Illinois Judges Association to help local schools, students, and community organizations prepare for success in the 2022-23 academic year by collecting school supplies, according to Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans. 

The school supplies collected in the Circuit Court of Cook County will be donated to the young people who attend Nancy B. Jefferson Alternative High School, which serves the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. 

The Circuit Court of Cook County Committee on Domestic Violence Court has developed a plan to improve court access to help
domestic violence victims, which will include an after-hours pilot program to start this September, according to Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans.

The award-winning documentary, “Any Given Day,” which features the Circuit Court of Cook County’s Mental Health Court program, will air on PBS on Thursday, July 7, according to Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans. 

Public television’s WORLD Channel, which is carried by local PBS station WTTW-Channel 11, will air the documentary at 7 p.m. as part of the “America ReFramed” series. 

The Circuit Court of Cook County’s Restorative Justice Community Court in Englewood will hold its first graduation ceremony on Wednesday morning, honoring 29 graduates, according to Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans. The graduates successfully completed an intensive program focused on education, accountability, and job training designed to address nonviolent crime and prevent recidivism.